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I just played Pirate's Cove for the first time last night. First off I think the game is great, fantastic components, and was a lot of fun even though we made several errors and seemed to have to consult the rules alot .

We got most of our questions figured out, but the one thing that still stands out in my mind which is not explained is the turn order for event cards. Can anyone here clarify for me in what order players get to play event cards? There are a couple cards that can be played at the _end_ of the navigation phase for example. What determines who plays their card first? I would suspect that if everyone passes then you move on to the next phase, but in what order to players declare that they have cards to play?

The other question that came up was what happens if two players have the Royal Navy Intercept card. If player A sends the Royal Navy to player B's island, can player B then send the Royal Navy back to player A's island (by playing the other Intercept card)? If they cannot, is the second Intercept card dead for that turn or does the Royal Navy fight right then and there before the Combat phase? Could player B then send the Royal Navy to player A's island? Or (a possiblity that just occured to me) in this case are there two Royal Navy's that go to two separate islands? I suspect this would make the mose sense considering there is only one privateering commission.

I have tried looking here and on boardgamegeek for answers to these questions but have not found any.

Hi,
Sail speed (or a dice roll, if tied and it still matters) will determine who plays an event card first when timing does matter. As for the Royal Navy, we always play it that you can "bounce it back" to the other player if you have the second card, but your suggestion (ie it is a second ship of the Royal Navy) does make sense, so I'd say either one is fine as long as you all agree ahead of time. If not, then use the "it bounces" option.
Eric

Actually it looks like my second question was answered in an earlier post from about a year ago . The statement there is that the Royal Navy card is simply there to remind people what the stats of a Royal Navy ship are, it is not actually _the_ Royal Navy ship.

Again since there is a card printed that allows a player to perform a redirect, I don't see why the second intercept should be allowed to redirect the first.

As for my first question we eventually decided that speed and dice rolls were the way to go. to determine card play order.

At any rate, Wednsday I get to try my luck again at the game since I lost horribly. Not to worry tho, I won the game of Ticket to Ride we played at the start of the evening .

Correct, the Royal Navy card itself is there solely to remind people of the combat characteristics of the Royal Navy ships. That card is not the one that tips of the Navy to anyone's whereabouts.
Happy plundering!
eric

We had a situation similar to BoneMachines: last turn, I had a chance to win either by going for the Treasure Island (with my seven treasure chests) and Ann Bonny & Nary Read, OR go for the Hull Island and it's four fame booty (knowing that the other three player pirates would more than likely go there too). I had the Royal Navy Intercep Event card in hand, so I thought that either I alone get 3+4 fame by sending the Royal Navy to Hull Island and sinking their ship alone OR better yet 1st kill the other players (possibly dividing the 4 fame) and then finishing them off myself. I decided to go to Treasure Island.

We all four players ended up going to Treasure Island (as I expected) and I was about to play the Royal Navy card, when another player said he wanted to play it too. And since we played by the rules as they stated in the Finnish translation (slowest ship plays Battle cards 1st... doh back then, he was allowed to play the card 1st. We weren't sure how to play it, and i checked here for any rules guide. I then found out that you couldn't send the Royal Navy to your own whereabouts which ended the arguement (cursed, could've won by defeating those pesky female pirates!). But we didn't know what to do if two players would want to use the card simultaneously. I guess the next time we'll play we'll try the "only one Royal Navy Intercept a turn" -rule. After all, first come, first served. Whoever sends the word to them 1st gets to control them the whole turn. I don't think the bounce thing would work in real life (unless you'd pay them more =). A second Royal Navy ship could work as well or better, but in the rule book it always states "THE Royal Navy" which, to me, sounds like there is only "one" Royal Navy that works as a single unit. Call me crazy.

Having just bought the game yesterday and having played a couple of games I already feel like commenting to this...

To me it seems self-evident that if two players have the navy card and want to play it on the same turn, there will be two navy ships in play. After all, if you manage to defeat a navy ship (assuming it was the only one in play that turn), it can turn up again later as there are two navy cards. Obviously the second one is a different ship as one navy ship was already sunk, so why couln't the two ships be tipped off to hunt pirates the same turn?

To me it seems self-evident that if two players have the navy card and want to play it on the same turn, there will be two navy ships in play.

Funny. To me it seems just as self-evident that there will remain only one Royal Navy in play, regardless how many times players want to tip it off to new places.

Alien wrote on Sat, 15 January 2005 15:16

After all, if you manage to defeat a navy ship (assuming it was the only one in play that turn), it can turn up again later as there are two navy cards. Obviously the second one is a different ship as one navy ship was already sunk, so why couln't the two ships be tipped off to hunt pirates the same turn?

Similarly (according to the rules), if you manage to defeat all the legendary pirates, the pirate deck is to be reshuffled and the previously defeated legendary pirates too will return into play again. So why shouldn't there be two (or three) Blackbeards and two Captains Hook etc. simultaneously in the game?

Sure, you might perhaps argue realism here. (The big real-life Royal Navy did have vast numbers of real-life ships.) But I think the point is, in this game, the Royal Navy is very much represented as a single "player" - like the black pirate (of which there is also only one in play at a time) - and combat with it as a "personal" affair. If you allow two simultaneous "ships of" or "units of" the Royal Navy, you will inevitably take some of that away.

Furthermore, if you really want to go down the path of multiple RN units, then will you also allow them in the same battle? If not, why not?
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(Hope you don't take this the wrong way. Just pointing out there are two ways to look at it.)

Sail speed (or a dice roll, if tied and it still matters) will determine who plays an event card first when timing does matter. As for the Royal Navy, we always play it that you can "bounce it back" to the other player if you have the second card, but your suggestion (ie it is a second ship of the Royal Navy) does make sense, so I'd say either one is fine as long as you all agree ahead of time. If not, then use the "it bounces" option.
Eric

Big thanks for this most enlightening post. I purchased the game only about a week ago (now going through the rules but haven't had opportunity to play it yet), and the order of play for cards is so far the number one difficulty I've had with the rules.

However, I still have a few further questions on this:

You have said that sail speed will determine card-play order. Is this regardless of the board positions - islands - of the players?

I ask because I have noticed that in other cases - combat, plunder and upgrade - orders of play are determined first by islands, then by speed.). (Also, apparently, the previous Amigo-Spiele version went according to islands for card play order, though in that case fame seems to have been the second criterion.)

Does play order by sail speed mean the player with the best sails will have to play (or pass) first? Or do you by any chance reverse sail-speed order for card play?

I assume the first, of course, but I am still asking just because it seems a bit unfair to me to punish players with good sails by having them play cards first.

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The Royal Navy intercept cards as such, on the other hand, never seemed particularly unclear to me. I am still very happy to see a ruling from you on those too. (In particular, of course, when it seems to confirm how I understood them: Only one Royal Navy in play at one time, unless players agree to play it otherwise: Last player of an RN intercept card gets to direct it.)